Prevalence of household food insecurity and associated factors in drought-prone pastoralist communities in Borana, Oromia, Ethiopia

AbstractBackground: Food security is a central component of the development agenda in pastoralist communities, especially among those who reside in drought-prone areas.Objective: This study measured the prevalence of household food insecurity and associated factors among pastoralist communities of Borana, Ethiopia. Methods and materials: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted between July and August 2015 in two pastoralist communities in Borana Zone, Oromia, Ethiopia. Data were collected from 1,058 randomly sampled households through an interviewer-administered structured questionnaire. The data were analysed using SPSS version 21.0. Results: The mean household food insecurity score was 18.21 (value range: 0.00-27.00). Overall, 82.33% of the households were severely food insecure, with 14.56% moderately food insecure. Ownership of private farming land, reliance on crop farming as the main economic activity (β=1.47, p=0.016), and one-way walk time to water sources (β=0.01, p=0.001) were significantly associated with household food insecurity (p<0.05). Likewise, increased family size (β=0.49, p=0.001) and lack of education (β=1.41, p=0.025) were significantly associated with food insecurity. In contrast, dependence on small business (petty trade and shop) as the main economic activity (β=5.14, p=0.001); ownership of milking cow (β=-0.25, p=0.001), bull/heifer (β=-0.16, p=0.002), goat (β=-0.14, p=0.001) or pullet (β=-1.17, p=0.001); ownership of various assets, such as forage (β=-2.50, p=0.009); and participation in village-level saving schemes (β=-1.41, p=0.044) were all significantly associated with reduced household food insecurity. Conclusions: Household food insecurity was widespread in the pastoralist communities of Borana, Ethiopia, affecting a high number of households in all domains: food anxiety, food quality, and quantity of food at the household level. As there were factors that were linked to food insecurity in the study pastoralists, evidence-based innovative interventions via a combination of measures in a medium-to-long-term development plan are vital for sustained household food security. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2021; 35(1):38-49] Keywords: Pastoralist, resilience, food resiliency, food insecurity, Borana, Ethiopi

Rabies in Endangered Ethiopian Wolves

With rabies emerging as a particular threat to wild canids, we report on a rabies outbreak in a subpopulation of endangered Ethiopian wolves in the Bale Mountains, Ethiopia, in 2003 and 2004. Parenteral vaccination of wolves was used to manage the outbreak

Bovine Tuberculosis at the Wildlife-Livestock-Human Interface in Hamer Woreda, South Omo, Southern Ethiopia

Bovine tuberculosis (BTB) is endemic in cattle in the Ethiopian Highlands but no studies have been done so far in pastoralists in South Omo. This study assessed the prevalence of bovine tuberculosis (BTB) at an intensive interface of livestock, wildlife and pastoralists in Hamer Woreda (South Omo), Ethiopia. A cross-sectional survey including a comparative intradermal skin testing (CIDT) was conducted in 499 zebu cattle and 186 goats in 12 settlements. Sputum samples from 26 symptomatic livestock owners were cultured for TB. Fifty-one wildlife samples from 13 different species were also collected in the same area and tested with serological (lateral flow assay) and bacteriological (culture of lymph nodes) techniques. Individual BTB prevalence in cattle was 0.8% (CI: 0.3%–2%) with the >4 mm cut-off and 3.4% (CI: 2.1%–5.4%) with the >2 mm cut-off. Herd prevalence was 33.3% and 83% when using the >4 and the >2 mm cut-off respectively. There was no correlation between age, sex, body condition and positive reactors upon univariate analysis. None of the goats were reactors for BTB. Acid fast bacilli (AFB) were detected in 50% of the wildlife cultures, 79.2% of which were identified as Mycobacterium terrae complex. No M. bovis was detected. Twenty-seven percent of tested wildlife were sero-positive. Four sputum cultures (15.4%) yielded AFB positive colonies among which one was M. tuberculosis and 3 non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM). The prevalence of M. avium-complex (MAC) was 4.2% in wildlife, 2.5% in cattle and 0.5% in goats. In conclusion, individual BTB prevalence was low, but herd prevalence high in cattle and BTB was not detected in goats, wildlife and humans despite an intensive contact interface. On the contrary, NTMs were highly prevalent and some Mycobacterium spp were more prevalent in specific species. The role of NTMs in livestock and co-infection with BTB need further research

Prevalence of Female Genital Mutilation and Attitude of Mothers Towards it in Serbo Town

No abstract - Available on PD

Understanding Resilience Dimensions and Adaptive Strategies to the Impact of Recurrent Droughts in Borana Zone, Oromia Region, Ethiopia: A Grounded Theory Approach

Recurrent shocks and stresses are increasingly deteriorating pastoralist communities’ resilience capacities in many aspects. A context specific resilience framework is essential to strengthen pastoralist community’s resilience capacity towards the impact of recurrent drought. Hence, the present study was aimed to develop a context specific and data driven resilience building framework towards impacts of recurrent droughts in the case of Borana pastoralists in Ethiopia. Qualitative grounded theory approach was employed to guide the study process. The data were collected through focus group discussions and in-depth interviews in two drought affected districts of Borana Zone during October 2013. The analysis was assisted by ATLAS. ti 7.1.4. The analysis provided a context specific resilience building conceptual tool, which consists of, closely interconnected, eight dimensions operating at multiple capacities and levels: environment (underlying vulnerability factor); livestock, infrastructures/social services, and wealth (immediate causes and effects); community network/social capital, as well as governance, peace and security (support and enabling factors oriented), psychosocial, and human capital (as eventual outcomes and impacts). The resilience capacities of these pastoralist communities have been eroded, leaving them without sufficient and effective adaptive strategies. The emergent resilience framework can serve as a useful guidance to design context-specific interventions that makes the people and the system resilient to the impacts of recurrent droughts

Intervention pathways towards improving the resilience of pastoralists: A study from Borana communities, southern Ethiopia

Building resilient communities towards recurrent droughts is increasingly becoming an important element in development endeavours, particularly among communities vulnerable to shocks and stresses. Despite decades of remarkable efforts made by governmental and non-governmental organization, the resilience capacity of pastoralists in Ethiopia remains poor. The aim of this study is to test the statistical relationships among the resilience dimensions that emerged through community consultations, and to identify the intervention pathways for effective resilience building efforts. Data were collected from 1058 randomly sampled households in Arero and Dhas districts of Borana Zone, Southern Ethiopia. The data were collected through interviewer administered structured questionnaire and observational checklist. Principal component analyses were done to develop composite scores of the different resilience dimensions. Structural equation model (SEM) verified the theoretical model. The SEM also revealed that resilience towards impact of recurrent droughts was multi-dimensional and showed statistically significant (p < 0.05) relationships. Consequently, household food insecurity manifested as ultimate outcome of poor resilience. Infrastructure and social services (β = −0.24), livestock dimension (β = −0.21), human capital (β = −0.12), psychosocial distress (β = −0.1) dimensions significantly (p < 0.05) affected the status of household food insecurity. Furthermore, livestock and wealth (β = 0.16), wealth and infrastructure (β = 0.06), infrastructure and human capital (β = 0.18), livestock and psychosocial distress (β = −0.09) dimensions have structural relationships and significantly influence each other. Environment, and peace and security are found to be major underlying resilience factors and significantly associated with pastoralists’ resilience which affect other resilience dimensions. The intervention pathway indicated that intervention on the livestock and infrastructure dimensions could help to improve the resilience of these communities

Clinical signs and culture result of sputum collected from pastoralists in Hamer Woreda classified by age group.

<p>NTM* included M. conceptionense, M. senegalense, M. fortuitum and <i>M. farcinogenes</i>.</p